OPINIONS  OF  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 
FRENCH  WRITERS  REGARDING  WAR  AND 
KINDRED  SUBJECTS 

BY 

NATHAN  SCHREIBER 
A.  B.  University  of  Illinois,  1920 


THESIS 

Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements  for  the 

Degree  of 

MASTER  OF  ARTS 
IN  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES 

IN 

THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


1921 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/opinionsofeighteOOschr 


SFP 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


t\ 


l 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 


may  "^5,  1921, 


.191 


I HEREBY  RECOMMEND  THAT  THE  THESIS  PREPARED  UNDER  MY 

N at dan  Schreioer 


SUPERVISION  BY.. 


ENTITLED OPIAIOMS  o£  BIG-  HTBENTH  CENT  UK}:  FRENCH  WRITERS 


BE  ACCEPTED  AS  FULFILLING  THIS  PART  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 
THE  DEGREE  OF MASTER  of  ARTS 


In  Charge  of  Thesis 


Head  of  Departnfent 


Recommendation  concurred  in* 


Committee 

on 

Final  Examination* 


Required  for  doctor  6 degree  but  not  for  master’s 


v>  v\ 


n ./ 


TABLE  Of  CONTENTS 


I 

Introduction 

page 

I 

II 

General  opinions  on  war 

2-8 

War  defined 
war  described 
Portrayal  of  its  evils 

111  Causes  and  agencies  of  war  Q-22 

Denouncing  militarism 
Mercenaries 
Soldier 

S tanding-axmies 
Pro-war  factions 
Natural  causes  of  war 
Providential  causes  of  war 
Inhaimoni ous  form  of  government 
Despotic  rulers 
Ambitious  ministers 
Religi on 

Voltaire,  arch-enemy  of  orthodox 
Chris tianity-a  cause  of  much  bloodshed* 

Secret  diplomacy 
Violation  of  international  law 
Ammunition  manufacturers  in  war  intrigues 
Commercial  wars 

IV  Just  and  unjust  wars  22-26 

Just-  when  liberty  is  at  stake 
Defensive  war  j s just 
Causes  of  just  war 
Unjust  war  defined 
Offensive  war 

V  Code  of  warfare  26-32 

International  law 
Prisoners 
Atrocities 

Property -personal  and  pUDlic 
Acts  of  reprisal 

Conquest  and  enslaving  conquered 


on 


i - 


. 


■ 


VI 


32-37 


Humanizing  warfare 
Disarmament 

Preventing  war  y 

“Projet  de  Paix  Perpetuelle  de  l’Aooe 
de  £aint-PierreM 

Contemporary  criticism  of  his 
proposed  world  league 


VII  Conclusion 

37 

VIII  Bibliography 

38 

OPINIONS  of  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  ERENCH  WRITERS 
REGARDING  WAR  and  KINDRED  SUBJECTS 

At  tne  present  time  there  is  pouring  fortn.  an  incessant 
stream  of  literature  "bearing  on  every  phase  of  war,  peace  and  the 
League  of  Nations*  Tne  reading  public  has  been  flooded  with  the 
multifarious  opinions  of  every  writer  interested  in  the  trend  of 
political  affairs. 

In  most  of  this  voluminous  literature,  no  mention  is 
made  of  political  writers  of  the  past,  nor  is  there  apparent  any 
effort  to  reap  the  benefits  of  their  views  on  these  identical 
matters*  The  thorny  problems  that  have  arisen  from  the  late  war 
are  not  unparalleled*  They  have  all  come,  more  or  less,  as  the 
aftermath  of  every  war.  Struggle  has  ever  been  the  essence  of  ex- 
istence, and,  among  men,  war  has  been  it3  most  horrible  manifes- 
tation. Every  writer  of  the  past  interested  in  the  progress  of 
civilization  has  attached  the  problems  arising  from  human  con- 
fli ct. 

Baffled  oy  such  proolems  , the  present  age  may  find  a 
veritable  heritage  in  the  literature  of  eighteen  century  Erance. 
That  period  of  French  history  was  agitated  by  many  social  and 
political  questions.  Among  these  are  many  that  are  very  modern, 
even  in  their  treatment,  as  i3  clearly  proved  by  the  innumerable 
discourses  on  war,  peace,  treaties  , the  rights  of  peace  and  war, 
the  relation  of  war  to  the  form  of  government,  international  law, 
and  a league  of  nations. 

Believing  that  the  treatment  of  these  perplexing  ques- 
tions by  the  Erench  would  prove  of  particular  and  immediate 


2. 


teres t,  I have  attempted,  after  a careful  choice,  to  utilize  in 
this  essay  their  most  representative  ideas.  This  interest  might 
ha^e  "been  enhanced,  perhaps,  toy  explicit  eomparieons  with  present  j 
ideas,  tout  in  view  of  the  wide  compass  of  the  subject,  these  com- 
parisons must  be  left,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  careful  reader. 

Humanitarian  in  spirit,  the  writers  of  ei ghteentficentury 
Prance  untiringly  batter  away  on  the  evils  of  war.  With  a tena- 
cious and  hateful  censure,  they  depict  its  frightful  disasters, 
the  ruins  that  lie  in  its  wake,  they  show  how  it  plunges-  families 
into  desolation  and  paralyses  national  life.  The  progress  of  the 
ages  goes  for  naught;  it  hurls  man  back  into  a state  of  barba- 
rism. 

’"All  animals  are  perpetually  at  war'*',  says  Voirtaire  in 
his  article  "‘Guerre",  "ka n , endowed  with  reason,  ought  to  have 
the  intelligence  not.  to  become  con temptibie  by  imidtetting  the  ani- 
mals, whose  natural  weapons  to  kill  their  kind  and  instinctive 
thirst  for  blood  are  not  his  by  nature.  In  spite  of  this  fact, 
murderous  war  i3  such  a frightful  heritage-  of  man  that,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three,  there  are  no  nations,  ancient  and 

modern,  whose  histories  do  not  represent  them  armed  one  against 
I 

the  other"-. 

Parallel  thoughts:  are  expressed  by  Diderot  in  his  arti- 
cle  on  "Paix"  in  trie  Di  cti  onnai  re  Dncyclopedi  que. 

(I)  Voltaire,  Oeuvres  Completes  de , par  Condorcet. 

5k  vols.  Paris.  Gamier  Prferes  , Librai  res— ^di  tears? 

(2L)  Diderot,  Oeuvres  Completes  de  , par  J.  Assezat  & 

Maurice  Tourneux.  kQ  vols.  Paris.  Garnieri  Prere3.  I875-18??. 

vol.  16,  ppe  Id?-Id9;  voi.  d,  pp.  4sd-490. 


’ 


■ 


^rom  the  expressions  descriptive  of  war  could  oe  com- 
piled a thesaurus  of  spithete. 

"War  is  a criminal  abomination,  which  consists  in  com- 
mitting the'  greatest  number  of  crimes  possible1  in  a line  oi  oat- 
tlef.  .It  is  liKe  Mount  Vesuvius;  its?  eruptions  swallow  up  cities, 
then  its  combustions  cease It  is  a frightful  malady  seizing  tne 
nations,  which  nature  curee  in  the  long  run.* .War  is  a raging 
torrent  of  flame  and  sulphur*  • .Sister  of  death,  unmerciful  war, 
that  depopulates  the  earth  and  covers-  it  with  blood  and  tears*  • • 

War  is  a scourge  from  heaven,  frightful  but  ne:cessary*  It  rends 
us  into  a thousand  pieces”*  ”Tna  art  01  strangling  one’s  neighbor, 
an  art  fullnof  horror”1,  is  what  Voltaire  says  of  military  tactics* 
In  ’\ba  Henri  ade%  Mayenne , encouraging  his  troops,  urges  them  **au 
crime”* ..  “’War  always  drags  in  its  waise  pest  and  famine ”• ^How 
modem  that  sounds*1 ) With  his  singular  hatred  of  religion  as  it 
prevailed  during  his  day,  Voltaire  calls  religious  intolerance 
the  first  human  plague,  and  war  the  second* *. “Diseases  and  maladies 
nave  filled  thei  earth  with  sufficient  misery  and  have1  shortened 
the  span  of  human  life  without  man  inventing  the  infernal  art  of 
war.*  .The  Ramans  judged  it  their  interest  to  wage  constant  war. 
where  are  they  to-day?. .wars  are  spasms  of  barbarism". 

Stripped  of  all  the  associ ationof  romance,  of  the  at--  ; 
mosphere  of  honor,  which  have  proved  so  intoxicating  and  irre- 
sistible in  the  past,  war  i3  depicted  in  its  horrible  nakedness. 

"Enf in , tandis  que  les  deux  rois  faisaient  chanter  des 
Te  Deum , chacun  dans  son  camp,  il  ( Candida J prit  le  parti  dialler 
raisonner  ailleurs  des  effete  et  des  causes*  II  passa  par-dessus 

(I)  Voltaire,  Oeuvres  Completes.  vox. 

pp.  368-37?;  vol*  b,  pp.4-^4,  4§9;  vol.  10,  pp.  I87-I94-; 


i 


. , . . r . i ..." 


~T1 

dee  tas  de  mor.ta  e“t  de  mourartB  , et  gagna  d ’ab  ordi  un  village 
voisdn  seewre  que  les  Bulgares  avaient  bruie,  selon  le3  lens  du 
droit  public;  il  etait  en  cendres.  I cl  des  vied  Hards  criBles  de 
coups  regardaient  raourir  leurs  femmes  egorgees  qui  tenaient 
leurs  enfants  a leurs  mamelles  sanglantes;  la  des  fiiles,  even- 

/ v.  y 

trees  apres  avoir  assouvi  les  besoins  naturels  de  quelque  heros , 
rendaient  leurs  derniers  soupirs;  d’autres,  a demi  bruiees  , cri- 
aient  qu’on  ac'nevat  de  leur  dormer  la  mort«  Des  cervelles  e/taient 
repandue3  sur  la  terre  a cote  de  ora3  et  de  jarnbes  coupes . " 

'file  glorifying  enthusiam,  so  extant  an  the  laterature 
of  the  middle  ages  dealing  wi  th  war,  is  to  be  found  nowhere  in 
that  01  tne  eighteenth  century,  Lajce  voltaire,  Le  Chevalier 
de  Jancourt  portrays  its  evils  with  a powerful  realism,  without 
halo  or  rainbow  colors, 

"La  guerre  etouffe  la  voix  de  la  nature,  de  la  justice, 

de  la  religion  et  de  1 ’human! te.  Bile  n’enfante  que  de3  origan- 

dages  et  de3  crimes;  avec  elle  marchent  l*eff£oi,  la  famine  et 

la  desolation;  elle  dechire  l’ame  des  meres,  des  epouses  et  des 

enfants;  elle  ravage-  les  campagne3  , depeuple  les  provinces,  et 

reduit  les  villes  en  poudre.  Elle  £puise  les  etats  florissants 

au  milieu  des  plu3  grands  succes;  eile  expose  les  vainque^s  aux 

tragi ques  rever3  de  la  fortune;  elle  deprave  les  moff^rs  de  toutes 

les  nations,  et  faat  encore  pius  de  miserables  qu’elle  n’en  em- 
<L 

porte.  " 


voitaire,  Ouevres  Completes.  IiaidcVoi.  21,  pp.I4a-j.42 
Candade,  Chap.  3.  bima xar  pi cture  vol.IO,  pp.Io7-1^4. 

(2)  Esprit  de  1 ’Encyclopedic , article  ’‘Guerre"  by 
he  Chevalier  de  Jancourt.  voi.  b,  pp.  194-2.04. 


Constantly  at  woric  on  hi3  stupendous  "Histoire  wa.tu- 

#» 

re lie  , Buff  on , influenced  by  contemporary  thought  and  events, 
finds  time  to  reflect  on  war. 


■•'L’nomme,  qui  ne  peut  que  par  le  nomfcre,  qua  n fest  fort 
que  par  sa  reunion,  qui  n’est  heureux  que  par  la  paix,  a la  fureur 
de  s ’armer  pour  son  malheur,  et  de  combattre  pour  sa  ruine. 

•'Excite  par  1' insatiable  avidite,  aveugle  par  lf ambi- 
tion encore  plus  insatiable,  il  renonce  aux  sentiments  d’humani- 
te , tourne  toutes  ses  forces  contre  lui-meme,  cherche  a 3 *entre- 
detrulre,  se  detruit  en  effet;  et , apres  des  jours  de  sang  et  de 
carnage,  lorsque  la  fumee  de  la  gioire  s *e3t  dissipee,  il  voit 
d’un  oeil  triete  la  terre  devastee,  les  arts  ensevelis,  les  na- 
tions dispersees,  les  peuples  affaifclis,  son  propre  bonheur  ru- 
ine, et  puissance  reelle  an^antie". 

Prom  the  battle-field  01  pontenoy,  d'Argenson  writes 
tnis  livid  description. 

•"Apres  cela , pour  vous  dire  le  mal  comme  le  bien,  j *ai 
remarque  une  nabitude  trap  t8t  acquise  de  voir  tranqui llement 
sur  le  champ  de  bataille  des  morts  nus  , des  ennemis  agoni sants, 
des  plaies  fumantes.  Pour  moi  , j ’avouerai  que  le  coeur  me  manqua 
et  que  j ’eus  oesoin  d'un  flacon.  J»ooservai  bien  nos  jeunes  he-  j 
ros ; je  les  trouvai3  trop  indifferents  sur  cet  article;  je  craig-s 
nis  , pour  la  suite  d’une  longue  vie,  que  le  gout  ne  vj^nt  augmen- 
ter  pour  cette  inhumaine  curee.  Le  triomphe  est  la  plus  belle 
chose  du  monde;  les  vive  le  roi les  chapeaux  en  l’air  au  bout 
des  ba‘i  onne  ttes  , les  compliments  du  maitre  a ses  guerriers  , la 

(I)  Quoted  from  Le  Progres  Civiqueo  Paris,  Oct.  1 


Jl 


■ 


visjte  des  retranchements  , des  villages  et  des  redoutes  si  in- 


tactes  , la  joie,  la  gloire,  la  tendresse  0.  .Mai  s le  plancner  de 
tout  cela  est  du  sang  humain  , des  lambeaux  de  chair  humain.  » 

To  this  letter  Voltaire  maxes  the  following  reply,  may 

20,  1745. 

**Vous  m’avez  ecrit,  monsieur,  une  lettre  telle  que  ma- 

dame  de  Sevigne  l’eut  falte,  si  eile  s’etait  trouvee  au  milieu 

I 

d’une  batailie." 

Antipatny  of  war  finds  expression  in  tne  por  trayal 
of  Its  evils.,  which  fin  the  pages  of  almost  every  writer  of 
this  age. 

“Murders,  rendered  not  only  legitimate  out  glorious 

through  war,  drench  the  earth  with  blood.. The  universal  law  is 

2 

’Woe  to  the  conquered'.  ’ The  century  is  one  of  crime.  " 

Itt  line  with  Voltaire  are  the  vigorous  expressions 
of  Diderot  and  Rousseau. 

"Axi  the  vices  of  all  times  and  of  all  places  taxen 
together' will  never  equal  the  evils  produced  by  one  single  cam- 

3 

paign..  War  corrupts  human  reason,  laws  and  customs.  Instead  of 
law  license  reigns.. .The  liberty  and  property  of  citizens  are 
rendered  uncertain. ..Commerce  and  public  resources  are  interrup- 
ted, or  entirely  ruined... The  soi l^aoanaoned , oecomes  useless... 

The  most  brilliant  victories  can  never  maxe  atonement  for  the 

4 

loss  of  multitudes  sacriiiced  by  war". 

Even  its  victories  bring  no  fruit.  A conqueror  loses 


il)  harm,  M.  Jules  , Histoire  de3  Idees  Morales  et  pol- 
itiques  en  France  au  dix-nui  tieme  siecle.  uermer  hailliere,  Li- 
oral re-Edi tefrr.  Paris.  Io6^>.  p.  103. 

j£)Voitaire.  Ibid.  voi.b.p.^O;  vol.i6  n «?T2-  vm  vi 
p.  53h;vol. 19,  p.  310.3*2;  vol/  6,  p.  *51.  • P.314,  vol.30. 


' 


■ 


\ > 

•> 


or ten  when  he  believes  he  13  gaining.  Always  weaker  at  the  con- 
clusion of  war,  his  only  consolation  is  in  seeing  the  conquered 
state  weaKer  than  his  , out  this  advantage  is  less  real  than  ap- 
parent; while  he  may  have  acquired  superiority  over  his  adversary, 
at  the  same  time  neutral  powers  have  gained  an  advantage  over 

him.  These  states,  without  increase  or  decrease  of  power,  are 

4 

fortified  and  strengtnened  through  his  weaKness  , 

voitaire  and  his  contemporaries  vehemently  denounce  tne 
perpetuating  causes  and  agencies  of  war,  particularly  military 
governments  and  mercenaries.  The  soldier  is  regarded  as  a banait, 
selling  his  services  for  a stipend;  the  military  government  as 
incompatible  wi  tn  liberty  and  peace.  Their  attacjc  on  the  merce- 
nary, now  happily  almost  extinct,  Drought  him  crashing  from  the 
pedestal  upon  which  previous  writers  had  worshipped  him  in  prose 
and  verse . 

■ 1 / 

To  Voltaire,  mercenairi es  are  nothing  else  but  murder- 
ers, "whom  the  spirit  of  debauchery,  of  licentiousness,  and  of 
rapine  have  caused  to  leave  their  homes;  they  frequently  change 
masters  and  expose  themselves  to  an  infamous  torture  for  a slight 
recompense;  the  day  of  battle  arrives,  and  often  the  soldier  who 


I by 


(3)  Diderot,  Oeuvres  Completes,  loid.vol.  16,  pp0  107- 


{ 4)  Rousseau,  J.  J,  Oeuvres  Completes  de  , Librairie 
Hechette  et  Cie.  Paris.  Ibbb-Iy05* i 3 vois.  vol.  5 , p.  310. 


. 

I . . 


- 


had  lately  stood  under  the  ensigns  of  his  country  sheds  remorse- 
lessly the  blood  of  his  fellow  citizens;  he  awaits  with  eagerness 
the  mcment  when  he  will  be  able,  in  the  field  of  carnage,  to 
snatch  some  booty  irom  the  dying.  Such  too  often  is  the  soldier; 
such  is  this  blind  and  ferocious  mob  who  are  used  to  change  the 
destiny  of  empires,  and  to  raise  monuments  of  glory. ..In  the  in- 
toxication of  their  brutal  frenzies  they  are  the  dregs  of  the 
I 

nati  ons  " • 

These  mercenaries  sell  their  blood  to  princes  whom  they 
do  not  Know,  oy  whom  they  are  treated  iiKe  hounds  led  against  the 
wild  boar  and  finally  left  to  die  in  a dog-xennei . . . “For  the  in- 
iquitous plans  of  political  tyrants  they  fight  furiously  as  hired 

assassins,  having  no  interest  in  the  quarrel,  nor  Knowing  its 
I 

cause  ". 

viewing  with  indescribable  disgust  the  military  dis- 
honors of  the  reign  of  Louis  baron  d’Holbach  describes  the 
soldier  as  an  automaton,  a murderous  menace  to  freedom. 

•’jNourri  dans  les  principes  d’une  obeissance  servile, 

/ / \ r 

accoutume  par  etat  a une  discipline  rigoureuse  qui  lui  deiend  de 
raisonner  sur  le9  ordres  qu’il  repoit,  ie  soldat  e3t  communement 
un  esclave  et  devient  par  la-meme  I'ennemi  de  la  liberte  de  ses 
concitoyens;  des  que  ses  chefs  commanaent  , ii  meconnait  tous  les 
rapports  qui  le  lient  aux  autres  hommes;  il  plongera,  si  l’on 
veut , l’epee  dans  le  sein  du  citoyen,  de  son  frere,  de  son  ami; 
il  3erai  t puni  par  la  mort  ou  ifinfamie,  s’il  balancait  a suivre 


(I)  Voltaire,  Oeuvres  Completes.  Ibid,  vol/  19  , pp 
4 49-26^;  310-3**;  vole  17,  p.  371 ; vol.  b,  pp.434,  489. 


9 


des  ordree  qu’il  ne  lui  est  jamais  permis  dtexaminer.  JUn  un  mot, 

1’homme  de  guerre,  de  meme  que  le  devot  fanatique  ne  se  croit  pas 

fait  pour  penser;  il  devient  cruel,  inhumain,  sans  pitie;  il  corn- 

met  le  crime  sans  remords  , quand  ses  chefs  lui  disent  qu’il  faut 

I 

commettre  le  crime". 

D’Hoioach  , 3peatcing  of  the  supreme  position  01  army 

officials  in  the  publi c affairs  of  a military  regime,  adds  that 

the  slavery  of  soldier  appears  honorable  to  the  soldier  himself. 

Moreover,  the  peaceiul  citizen,  intimidated  before  him,  comes  to 

regard  the  profession  of  war  as  the  most  respectable. "C 'est  ainsi 

qu'a  1* example  de3  sauvages  , la  force  parait  encore  la  plus  digpie 

I 

d’e3time  et  de  consideration". 

In  the  chapter  entitled  "L’Araee  et  la  nation"  of  his 
"Hi at oi re  Phi losophique  et  Poietique  des  deux  Indes",  Raynal 
points  out  that  troops  are  the  means  with  which  despotic  rulers 
intrench  their  power. 

"Les  troupes  nombreuses,  les  places  fortes,  les  maga- 
31ns  et  les  arsenaux  peuvent  empecher  les  invasions:  mais  en  pre- 
servant un  peuple  des  irruptions  d’un  conquerant , ils  ne  le 
sauvent  pas  des  attentats  d'un  despote . . .Tant  ae  soldats  ne  font 
que  tenir  a la  chalne  des  esclaves  tout  faits.  L’homme  le  plus 
faible  est  alors  le  plus  fort.  Comme  il  peut  tout,  il  veut  tout. 
Parries  seuies?  armes  , il  brave  1’opinion  et  forces  les  volontes. 
Avec  d6  3 soldats,  il  leve  des  impots;  avec  des  impots,  il  leve 
des  30ldatso  II  croit  ex^ere.er  et  manifester  sa  puissance,  en 
detruiaant  ce  qu’il  a cree;:  mais  il  travaiile  dans  le  neant  et 

✓ 

(I)  bayet , Aloe rt^ & Albert , Prancois,  he  a Ecrivains 
geli tiques  du  xvjj3  siecle.  Paris.  1904. pp.  ^I6-^Id.  D»  noibacn, 
Le  Gouvernement  Militaire. 


. 


iO 

/ 1 
pour  le  neant", 

resides  creating  universal  oppression  and  causing  im- 
mense expenditures  and  increased  taxes,  large  standing -arm! es  are 
a menace  to  society  in  another  manner.  During  peace  the  soldier 
is  idle,  for  the  most  part.  This  idleness  saps  his  initiative, 
and  when  his  service  is  over,  he  is  nothing  hut  trash,  no  longer 
useful  to  society  • Consequently,  it  is  urged  that  soldiers  be 

put  to  building  road3 , draining  3wamps  , digging  canals,  or  improv 
2 

ing  Harbors. 

After  compulsory  military  service  was  inaugurated  in 
Europe,  -in  Erance  in  17^6-  national  armies  grew  hy  leaps  and 
bounds.  Each  monarch  of  Europe  vied  with  the  other  in  increasing 
tne  size  of  His  army, -an  emulation  which  has  continued  to  modem 
times  in  an  efiort  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  of  Europe. 

Against  this  contagious  national  malady  of  inordinate- 
ly augmenting  troops,  Montesquiea  cries  out:  "Chaque  monarque 
tient  sur  pied  touted  les  armees  qufil  parrait  avoir  si  ses 

A 

peuples  etaient  en  danger  d’etre  extermines;  et  on  nomme  paix  cet 

, 3 

etat  d ’effort  de  tous  contre  tous.’" 

Though  expressing  hate  and  lear  of  military  despotism, 
yet  some  of  the  "phi los ophes " of  tne  eighteenth  century  realized 
tnat  a country  must  not  be  without  defenders.  "a  country’s  true 
defenders  are  its  citizens"',  writes  Rousseau,  "and  a well-exer- 
cised militia,  that  comprises  all  citizens,  can  alone  fulfill 


(1)  Bayet  & Albert.  Ibid. Raynai , "E’Aimee  et  la  nation1, 

PP*  39^-3 

(2)  Rousseau,  Oeuvres  Completes,  loid.  voi. 5»  P.  316. 
Also  same  as  reference  (I). 

(3)  Montesquieu,  Oeuvres  Completes  de  , par  Ed.  Laoou- 

laye.  Oarnier  Freres.  Paris.  IfcS7b-Ie79.  7 vols.  "1 'Esprit  des 
lois ".  Rook  13,  Chap.  17.  I 

- _J 


f 


-»  - - ... 


I 

Its  needs? 

At  the  same  time,  it  was  well  recognized  that  a large 
permanent  force  would  give  rise  to  occasions  when  it  could  oe 
used.  "In  a military  government,  peace  is  for  many  people  a vi- 
olent and  incommodious  state*. .The  tumultuous  voice  of  the  pro- 
war factions  stifle  the  cry  of  the  nation,  the  sole  interest /of 
which  lies  in  tranquillity.  These  partisans  of  war  are  never 
lacKing  pretexts  to  excite  disorder  and  to  have  their  selfish  de- 
sires  given  a hearing*  ’It  is  by  means  of  war*,  they  say,  ’that 
nations  are  strengthened;  a nation  is  enfeebled,  degrades  itself 
by  peace’?  .0  Peace  has  a precarious  existence  under  militarism. 

Some  writers  looKed  upon  war  as  a natural  -factor  in  the 
all-pervading  law  of  struggle  that  miles  the  vegetable  and  animal 
Kingdoms.  In  this  struggle  among  peoples  , victory  is  to  the 
strongest,  to  the  most  intelligent,  to  the  best  armed.  Conse- 
quently it  contributes  to  the  progress  ana  physical  development 
of  races,  producing  a profitable  selection  of  the  species.  "War 
is  a school  of  courage  and  of  virtue;  it  excites  the  Keenest 
forces  of  the  nations,  it  produces  Drilliant  actions  which  honor 
the  people  capaDle  of  producing  them".lThese  writers  overlooK  the 
true  fact,  that  war  swallows  up  the  cream  of  manhood  and  leaves 
physically  defective  to  propagate  their  Kind,) 

The  migratory  spirit,  in  distributing  mamcind  over  the 

(I)  Rousseau,  "Considerations  sur  le  gouvemement  de 
?ologne".In  Bayet  & Albert.  Ibid,  pp,  <190-^93. 

(ii)  Diderot.  Ibid.  voi.  16,  pp.  107-109.  Rousseau.  load: 
vol.  5 , p.  3I0. 


' 


' 


face  of  tne  earth,  brings  clash  and  conflict  into  the  human  fam- 
ily. "Un  Peupie  a l»envie  de  changer  de  demeure  et  de  quitter  une 

terre  ingrate  pour  s,etaolir*a  force  ouverte  aans  un  pays  plus 
I 

fertile". 

iJot  only  was  war  the  function  of  a natural  law  , but 
also,  according  to  some  , writers,  an  instrument  of  Providence, 
which,  liice  ail  physical  misfortunes,  was  necessary  for  the  ex- 
piation of  the  crimes  of  men.  this  fantastical  view  i3  mockea 
by  the  host  of  ei ghteentKcentury  writers,  the  foremost  and  greater 

dyu 

nvtmber  of  whtoSa  were  either  bitterly  opposed  to  all  aspects  of 

religion,  or,  at  most,  inteimi ttently;  f eeoly  favorable  toward  it 

To  them  war  13  not  a law  of  Providence;  its  source  is 

in  the  depraved  nature  of  man.  It  is  no  more  divine  than  are 

earthquakes,  floods,  disasters,  epidemics. 

"On  disait  au  grand  Gu3tave  que , par  ses  glorieux  suc- 

ces  , il  paraissait  que  la  Providence  l’avait  fait  naitre  pour  le 

salut  des  hommes;  que  son  courage  etait  un  don  de  la  Toute-Puis- 

sance  , et  un  eff'et  visiole  de  sa  bonte.Dites  plutot  de  sa  colere, 

reparti  t le  conquerant;  si  la  guerre  que  je  fais  e3t  un  remede , 

2 

il  est  plus  insupportable  que  vos  maux". 

Nor  is  war  natural  to  political  states,  as  Hoobes , the 

tjie. 

philosopher,  had  asserted;  no  more  so  than  is  disease  toAhuman 
oody.  "Aussi  que  les  corps  physiques,  les  corps  politiques  3ont 
sujets  a des  revolutions  cruelles  et  dangereuses;  quoique  ces  in- 


( 1 )  ^Rousseau.  loid.  vol.  0,  pp.  I94-«i04.  Also  esprit 

de  L ’Encyclopedie.  Ioid.  voi.  8,  p.  197*  Manuel  j\ant , the  great 
German  philosopher,  says  that  war  i3  prompted  by  the  instinct  of 
conservation  and  acqui  rement . bee  Ue  koiinari  , m.  G.  h»Aobe  ne 
baint-  Pierre.  Paris.  Idb7.  p.  42a.  — 

(2)  .Diderot.  Ioid.  vol.  16,  pp . Id?-I09. 


* 


t / J ‘ 

iirmites  soient  des  suites  necessaires  de  la  faiolesse  humaine, 

elles  ne  peuvent  etre  appelees  un  etat  naturel".  Tne  political 

body  is  healthy  only  wnen  it  is  enjoying  the  tranquillity  of 
I 

peace. 

More  directly  responsible  for  war  than  any  natural  or 
providential  cause  9 are  men  invested  with  power,  with  governmen- 
tal or  spiritual  guidance.  Selfish  icings  craving  glory,  ministers 

moved  by  clandestine  ambitions,  theologians^ teaching  blind  dogma 
$ 

and  superstitions  that  engender  deathly  hatred  among  peoples,  have 
Deen  the  greatest  malefactors  as  primary  causes  of  war. 

'War  is  a quarrel  oetween  sovereigns  that  is  settled 
Dy  means  of  anas". 

Ironically  referring  to  the  war  of  ^lssia  with  Turkey, 

Voltaire  enlightens  the  honorable  visitor  from  bin  us  with  the 

following  facts  aoout  mankind: 

"ll  y a cent  mille  fou3  de  notre  espece , couverts  de 

cnapeaux , qui  tuent  cent  mille  autres  animaux  couverts  d’un  tur- 

/ 

ban,  ou  qui  sont  massacres  par  eux , et  que , presque  par  toute  la 
terre  , c’est  ainsi  qu’on  en  use  de  temps  immemorial".  Le  Sirien 
fremit,  et  demanda  quel  pouvait  etre  le  sujet  de  ces  horribles 
querelles  entre  de  si  chetifs  animaux.  "II  s'agit,  di t le  phiio- 
sophe,  de  quelque  tas  de  boue  grand  corame  votre  talon.  Ce  n’est 
pas  qu’aucun  de  ces  millions  d ’homines  qui  se  font  egorger  pre- 
tende  un  fetu  sur  ce  tas  de  boue.  Ii  ne  s'agit  que  de  savoir  s'li 
appartiendra  a un  certain  hamme  qu’on  nomme  buitan  , ou  a un  autre 
qu’on  nomme,  je  ne  sais  pourquoi  , Cesar. 


Chap . 7 


(I)  Diderot c Ibid.  voi„  16,  pp.  I67-I69. 

{ ^ ) ^3pri  t de  1 ’En cyclop eal e.  idio.  voi.  o,  194. 
i$i  Voltaire.  lDid,  vol.  dl , p.  119,  "Micromegas" 


A 


' 

r 


'.l 


r“~ 


14 


Diderot  declares  that  a King’  s desire  for  glory  brings 
ruin  and  misfortune  to  his  people. 

"Les  passions  aveugles  des  princes  les  portent  a etera^- 
^re  les  Domes  de  leurs  etats.  Peu  occupes  du  bien  de  leurs  su- 
jets,  ils  ne  cherchent  qu*a  grossir  le  nomore  des  hommes  qu’ils 
rendent  malheureux.  Ces  passions,  allumees  ou  entretenues  par  des 
ministres  amoitieux,  ou  par  des  guerriers  dont  la  profession  est 
incompatiole  avec  le  repos,  ont  eu  dans  tous  les  ^ges  les  effets 
les  plus  mnestes  pour  l’humanite.  L'histoire  ne  nous  fournit  que 
4es  examples  de  paix  vi  olees  , de  guerres  injustes  et  cruelles  , 
de  champs  devastes  , de  villes  reduites  en  cendres.  Lnepuisement 
seul  semoie  forcer  les  princes  a la  paixj  ils  s ‘ape^oivent  tou- 
jours  trop  tard  que  le  sang  du  citoyen  srest  mele  a celui  de 
1 ’ennemi ; ce  carnage  inutile  n ’a  servi  qu  ‘a  cimenter  l’ediiice 
cnamerique  de  la  gloire  au  conquerant  et  de  ses^uerriers  turbu- 

ients;  le  "bonheur  de  ses  peupies  est  la  premiere  vi  ctime  qua  est 

, ' , 1 

ammolee  a son  caprice,  ou  aux  vues  interessees  de  ses  courtisans;1 

In  his  characteristic  vein,  Voltaire  satirises  princes 
who  lay  imaginary  claims  to  territory  and  people,  “it  is  aosurd 
and  barbarous  that  nations  should  perish  because  two  princes  are 
in  dispute  over  an  heritage-  that  an  entire  people  should  be  sac- 

eL 

riiiced  to  their  interests-  there  is  the  horror.  Let  the  people 
of  the  nation  decide  which  ruler  thejj  want ..  .Sell  i sh  interest  is 


(I)  Diderot.  Ibid.  vol.  16,  p.  loci. 

(<i)  voitaire  estimates  a loss  of  400,000  men  in  the 
wars  waged  to  determine  the  succession  to  the  Spanish  monarchy, 


J 


tue  unique  god  of  Kings. .. vi ctory  and  glory  are  oougnt  with  the 

fortune  and  blood  of  their  people,  who  are  left  in  the  horror  of 

I 

poverty,  exhaustion  and  suffering". 

An  aosolute  mpnarch  regards  his  troops  as  follows: 

"Le  despote  regarde  ses  soldats  comme  appartenant  p±us 
part j culi Bremen t a lui ; il  les  juge  comme  seuls  propres  a second- 
er ses  vues  , comme  felts  pour  le  servir  aveuglement  dans  toJes 

ses  entrep rises,  soit  contre  ses  propres  sujets  , soit  contre  les 

4 

sujets  des  princes  ses  rivaux". 

I ousseau  enumerates  tne  motives  that  constrain  princes 
to  taxe  up  arms o 

"Ces  motifs  sont,  ou  de  faire  des  conquetes  , ou  de  se 
deiendre  d’un  conquerant , ou  d’alfaiolir  un  trop  puissant  voisin, 
ou  de  se  soutenir  ses  droits  attaquee , ou  de  vider  un  difx^rand 
qu’on  a pu  terminer  a 1 'ami  able,  ou  emin  de  rempiir  les  engage- 
ments d’un  traite.  Ii  n'y  a ni  cause  nj  pretexte  de  guerre  qu’on 

3 

ne  puisse  ranger  sous  quelqu’un  de  ces  six  chefs". 

Whatever  tnese  motives  may  be,  they  are  never  given  to 
tne  public,  a3  remarks  another  writer. 

"Les  souverains  ont  grand  soin  de  repandre  des  mani- 
festes  pour  jus  tiller  la  guerre  qu’ils  en treprennen t , tandie 

qu’ils  cacnent  s oi gneusement  au  public,  ou  qu'ils  se  cacnent 

4 

a eux-memes  les  vrais  motiys  qui  les  determinent ". 

Kings  consider  war  as  a meana  of  enhancing  their  lame 

(I)  Voltaire.  Ioia0  vol.  Iy,  p.  371.  vol.  Io,  p.  444; 
vol.  c , p.  4cy. 

(4)  Bayet  & Aloert.  Ioid.  p.  4I7. 

(3}  Rousseau.  Ibid.  vol.  3,  p. 

(4)  Esprit  de  1 ’Encyclopedic.  Ibid.  voi.  d,  pc  Iy6. 


, 


« 


# 


1.6 

and  glory,  in  their  own  country  and  aoroad. 

"Toute  1* occupation  des  roas,  ou  de  ceux  qufals 

cdargent  de  leurs  fonctions,  se  rapporte  a deux  seuls  objets; 

etendre  leur  domination  au  dehors,  et  la  rendre  plus  absolue  au 
I 

dedans "• 

fchich  rulers  who  put  selfish  pride  and  glory  above  all 

other  considerations  ought  to  he  deprived  of  power.  To  them 

"l’appareil  des  annes  est  un  jeu  d^nfants,  et  les  roas  ne 

doivent  point  avoir  de  poupees.  Je  ne  ais  rien  non  pius  de  la 

gloire  des  conquerants  parce  que  s'il  y avaat  quelques  monstres 

qui  8 faffligeassent  uniquement  pour  n’avoar  personne  a massacrer, 

il  ne  faudrait  point  leur  parler  raison,  mais  leur  3ter  les 

\ d 

moyens  d’exercer  leur  rage  meurtriere". 

All  the *phi los ophes  of  the  eighteenth  century,  whose 
expressions  of  hate  and  fear  of  military  despotism  oecome  more 
bitter  as  the  century  advances,  denounce  Kangs,  princes  and 
ministers  .as  promoting  war.  "War  comes  to  us  from  the  imaginatior 
of  three  or  four  hundred  persons  spread  over  the  suriace  of  the 
globeunder  tne  name  of  ministers  or  princes:  and  it  is  perhaps 
for  this  reason  that  in  several  dedications  they  are  called  the 

3 

laving  images  oi  the  divinity". 

according  to  Rousseau  , the  supreme  monarch  finds  in 
war  a means  of  intrenching  his  iron -clad  despotism. 

"Ll  est  facile  de  comp rend re  que  d’un  cote  la  guerre 
et  les  conquStes  , et , de  l*autre  les  progres  du  despotisme,  s 'en- 
tr’aident  mutueliement;  qu ’ on  prend  a discretion,  dans  un  peuple 

d.^sclaves,  de  I'argent  et  des  homines  pour  en  suojuger  d’autres; 

(1) "  Montesquieu.  Esprit  des  loas.  chaps.  2 & 3. 

(2)  Rousseau.  Ibid,  voi. 5,  p.  321. 

(3)  Voltaire.  load.  voi.  6,  pc  434;  vol.  10,  p.  190; 
voi.  19,  p.  310. 


que  reciproquement  la  guerre  foumlt  un  ptetexte  aux  exactions 
pecuniaires,  et  un  autre  non  moins  specieux  d ’avoir  toujours  de 


/ Crx 
grandes  armees  pour  tenir  le  peupie  en  respect.  Eniin.voit  assez 

/ N 

que  les  princes  conquerans  font  pour  le  moins  autant  la  guerre  a 

leurs  sujets  qu ’a  leurs  ennemis,  et  que  la  condition  des  vain- 

I 

queurs  n’est  pas  meilleure  que  celle  des  vaincus". 

!hat  the  monarchy  in  trance  .;as  gradually  crumoling 
can  readily  be  inferred  from  what  tne  Aooe  de  Saint-Pierre  fcoj.d- 
ly  wrote  aoout  LouisXIV.  He  pictured  that  famed  monarch  as 
haughty,  a prince  with  unoounded  ambition  seeding  vain  glory  and 
power  without  regard  for  the  public  welfare.  For  an  "aoDe",  he 
couched  his  sentiments  in  decidedly  3trong  language. 

”Et  a dire  vrai  , -c’etait  la  principals  passion  de 
Louis  XIV' que  d’etaler  sa  grande  puissance,  et  par  consequent 
de  se  f ai re  craindre  , sans  laire  reflexion  que  qui  se  fait 
craindre  3e  fait  ha'i r « II  se  gouvernait  cependant  comme  s’il  eut 

/ X t 

adopte  a l’egard  de  ses  voisins  et  de  ses  sujets  la  maxime  d’un 

c.- 

c^lebre  tyran : Qu  ’ i Is  me  ha'issent,  pourvu  qu’als  me  craignent". 

Armored  militarism  and  despotic  rulers  were  despa  caole 
an  tfte  opinions  expressed  oy  writers  oi  the  eighteenth  century. 
Religion,  a motivating  cause  of?  many  wars,  was  considered  scarce- 
ly more  iavorabiy. 

Writing  to  M.  de  Heaumont,  Rousseau  remarxs,  “Tous 

3 

les  chretiens  ont  eu  des  guerres  de  religion"# 

Tne  Church  is  still  powerful  and  attacK/&  upon  it  must 
be  wary*Leftly  placed  in  the  article  "Falx"  of  the  famous  "Dic- 
— - ■ - - ■ ■ - - , 


(I)  Rousseau.  Ibid.  vol.  3,  p.  333, 
U)  Molinari.  loid.  pp.  337-351. 

(3)  Same  as  (I),  vol.  3,  p.89. 


A\ 


' 


16 

tionnaire  Encyclopedi que " is  a splenetic  treatment  of  religion  as 
a cause  of  war# 

"Ce  ne  sont  point  les  grandes  verites  qui  ont  inond^ 

la  terre  de  sang,  Les  hammes  ne  se  sont  gulre  entretues  que  pour 

des  choses  qu’ils  n ’entendaient  poin t. . .L*  interet  a engendre  les 

pretres , les  pretres  ont  engendre  les  prejuges  , les  pre^uges  ont 

engendr^  les  guerres,  et  les  guerres  dureront  tant  qu’il  y aura 
I 

des  pretres". 

Waging  ceaseless  warfare  against  orthodox  Christianity, 
its  arch-enemy,  voltaire,  directs  his  guns  agaist  it  in  poetry, 
drama,  history,  and  story.  His  attacks  against  its  doctrines  and 
prevailing  superstitions  are  veritaole  bomoardments  , unparalleled 
in  literary  history.  To  ham,  the  most  blameworthy  cause  oi  wars 
has  been  religion. 

Depicting  the  shame  to  human  reason  of  theological 

quarrels  and  dissensions,  that  lead  the  two  factions  to  march 

"gayly  to  the  crime  under  the  banner  of  its  saint",  he  declares: 

“Id  est  affreux  sans  doute  que  l’Eglise  chretienne  ait 

toujours  ete  dechiree  par  ses  querelies  , et  que  le  sang  ait  coule 

pendant  tant  de  siecles  par  des  mains  qui  portaient  le  dieux  de 
X 

la  paix" . 

In  his  "Le  siecle  de  Louis  XIV",  he  writes  that  the 
North  American  Indian  massacres  canJt  approach  the  religious  mas- 
sacres such  as  the  Saint -Bar thel&ny  , the  holy  war  of  Ireland,  the 
holy  murders  of  the  crusade  of  Montf ort , and  hundred  similar  aoom- 
inations,  which  have  made  of  Christian  Europe  a vast  scaffold  full 


i1)  Djctionnaire  Ancy cLope'digue*  Article  en ti  tied  Daix. 
Voltaire,  ibid.  voi.  14,  p.  161. 


19 

oi  priests  , )iangmen  and  condemned  men.  Only  Christian  intolerance 

has  caused  these  horrible  disasters, ..  The  only  way  of  rendering 

peace  to  men  is  then  to  destroy  all  dogmas  which  divide  them, 

I 

and  to  re-establish  the  truth  which  unites  them", 

Voltaire  ridicules  the  practice  of  celebrating  the  an- 
niversary of  battles  and  paying  speakers  to  eulogise  "murderous 
days".  The  speakers  on  these  occasions  are  usually  members  of  the 
clergy,  and  on  other  days  of  the  year,  they  declaim  against  vi- 
ces , hut  in  these  anniversary  speeches  they  never  upbraid  the 
scourge  and  crime  of  war,  the  ingredients  of  which  are  plagues 
and  vice3,  pillage,  rape,  larceny,  homicide,  devastation,  de- 
s tructi on. 

In  a similar  bitter  vein,  he  slashes  the  ppiests  who 
bless  the  military  standards  before  the  army  proceeds  to  the 
field  of  carnage,  "The  army  chief  is  a murderer  invoking  God  sol- 
emnly before  going  to  exterminate  his  neighbor. ,.The  good  priests 
ceremoni ously  bless  the  banner  of  the  murderer,  and  sing  songs 
of  praise  when  the  earth  has  been  inundated  with  blood.. .The  ele- 
gant and  gentle  Massillon,  blessing  the  regimental  colors,  prays 
God  to  send  the  Angel  of  heath  in  front  of  the  Austrian  regiment. 

The  Austrian  preachers  were  saying  the  same  thing,  and  the  Angel 

Know 

of  heath  did  not  who  m to  heed". 

A ! 


(1)  Voltaire.  Ibid.  vol.  20 , pp.I03-I2c.  Similar  senti- 
ments are  expressedin  vol.  14,  p.  Ibl;  vol.  I7,  p.  14;  vol.  lb, 
pp.  — i vol.  II,  p.  14/;  vol.  lx.,  p.490 

(2)  Same  a3  (I).  vol.  27,  p.  3?4.  Also  see  vol.  19  , 
pp.  3I0-322 

In  his  notations  to  "La  Tactique"*  Voxtaire  attempts 
to  give  data  about  the  invention  of  powder  by  an  English  monk. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  cannon  and  artillery,  he 
emphasises  as  certain  the  fact  that  three  monks  and  two  Jesultes 
have  contributed  to  the  destroying  of  men  and  cities  by  artillery 
voi.  ICi  Po  109. 

a-”-™  — ..  ■ 


’ 


1 


. 


20 


From  His  ferocious  atta-eK3  on  religion  as  a cause  of 

war, one  conceives  Voltaire  an  extremist  bridled;  not  even  by  human 

reason,  but  carried  away  by  a torrent  of  prejudice.  Yet  this 

prejudice  is  often  expressed  in  fiery  eloquence,  so  admirable, 

for  the  most  part,  that  it  stirred  the  civilized  world  against 

I 

religious  intolerance,  as  well  as  against  war. 

Though  decrying  orthodox  Christianity,  Voltaire  praises 
sincerely  the  Quakers  , a religious  sect  which  regards  war  in  hor- 
ror, and  in  whose  places  of  worship  bloody  flags  and  the  god  of 
battle  are  never  received,,  He  presents  the  Quakers  to  the  barbar- 
ian Christians  as  an  example  of  a people  serenely  and  innocently 

2 

tilling  the  soil. 

More  pertinent  to  present  political  thought  are  eight- 
eenth century  opinions  on  inhanaoni ous  governments  as  causes  of 

3 

war. 


a 

"La  guerre  est  une  n^Ladie  convulsive  et  violente  du 
corps  politique”. 

A3  long  as  the  divisions  of  European  peoples  are  not 
harmonious,  the  peace  of  Europe  will  oe  precarious.  Hence  writes 
Rousseau,  seeming  at  times  the  most  penetrating  thanKer  on  pol- 
itical problems  of  his  age, 

"Convenons  done  que  l’e'tat  relatif  des  puissances  de 
1 ’Europe  est  proprement  un  etat  de  guerre  et  que  tous  les  traites 
partiels  entre  quelques  unes  de  ces  puissances  sont  plutot  des 


...  (I)  v°itaire.  Ibid.  vol.  19,  pp . 249-262.  In  this 

connection  see  Carlyle’s  essay  on  Voltaire. 

2k,  P.  06 ; vole D^o \ p\0l^p-  4oo-490:  vo1*  PP”  560-375;  vox. 

(3)  relation  between  war  and  the  Kind  of  political 
government  is  amplified  in  Unutstf » "League ”.  &ee 

(4)  Diderot.  Ioid.  voi.  16 


bi bli ography. 


, > I 


% 


I 


cLtL 

elle-meme ". 

Secret  diplomacy  was  accounted  a cause  of  war  and 

2 

wider  publicity  to  diplomatic  treaties  was  urged. 

The  violation  of  international  law  was  an  ordinary  pre- 
text  for  wars. 

Not  a direct  cause  of  war,  but  staunch  supporters  of 
it,  are  ammunition  manufacturers.  ( Tne  assertion  has  been  made 
that  the  Krupps  in  Germany  were  involved  in  the  intrigues  that 
created  the  recent  world  war.)  “Engendering  the  mis 

eries  of  the  people,  war  enables  five  or  six  hundred  to  make  im- 
mense  fortunes". 

Commerce  was  considered  as  a cause  of  war.  Some  writers 

speak  of  commerce  as  restraining  conflict.  (The  latter  attitude 

receives  mention  in  the  latter  part  oi  the  thesis.) 

Closely  allied  with  causes  are  considerations  upon 

what  are  just  and  what  are  unjust  wars. 

In  the  article  “Du  Droit  de  la  Guerre"?,  Voltaire  say3 

4 

"No  war  is  ju3t;  that  idea  seems  contradictory  and  impossible". 

He  makes  an  exception,  however,  in  the  case  when  li  oer* 
ty  is  at  stake. 

"If  heaven  permits  -war,  it  is  in  the  cause  of  lioerty. 

God,  in  giving  man  birth,  made  him  free... When  the  liberty  oi 

one’s  country  hangs  in  tne  balance,  then  the  best  citizen  is  the 

best  warrior,  and  he  defends  nis  country  although  condemning 
4 

war". 


(1)  Bam:  , Jules.  Ibid.  p.  o6.Paren  theti  cally  , jtmigh' 
oe  stated  that  in  the  century  of  Voltaire,  national  wars  were 
rare,  but  dynastic  wars  succeeded  one  another  without  interrup- 
tion. Bayet  & Albert.  Ibid.  p.  59* 

(2)  kon tesqui eu.  Ibid,  ksprit  des  lois.  Bk.  2o.  Ch.kd 

(_3)  & l ' • ' 


Xc^.S.  5-V5-S-H-* 


4)  Voltaire,  ibid.voi.  41  .p.  382;vol.  27  ,p.  3?0. 


' 


•**  -*.•< 


detruire.  Les  guerres  ofiensives  sont  celies  que  les  souverains 

\ r 

font  pour  forcer  d’autres  souverains  a leur  rendre  ce  qu’ils  pre- 
tendent  leur  etre  du  , ou  pour  ooteni r la  reparation  du  dommage 
qu  * i Is  estiment  qu’on  leur  a cause  tres  injustement.  ..Ii  faut 
done  se  contenter  de  dire  que  le  souverain  qui  prend  le  premier 
les  armes  , 30it  qu’il  le  fasse  justement  ou  injustement,  commence 
un^  guerre  offensive,  et  que  celui  qui  s 'y  oppose,  soit  qu*il  ait 

' , I 

cu  qu'il  n*ait  pas  tort,  commence  une  guerre  defensi  ve  ( In  the 
late  Y/orld  War,  ail  tne  participants  claimed  to  be  waging  defen- 
sive war;  ooth  Germany  and  the  Allies,,  ) 

Voltaire  maintains  that  there  are  only  onensive  wars, 

"The  defensive  is  no  other  thing  than  resistance  to  armed  rob- 
2 

oers  " o 

Under  what  circumstances  has  a state  the  right  to  befiir 

an  attack ?Montesqui eu  answers  the  question  as  follows: 

"Entre  les  citoyens,  le  aroi t de  la  defense  naturelle 

n'emporte  point  avec  lui  la  necessite  de  lfattaque.  Au  lieu  d’at- 

taquer,  ils  n’ont  qu ’ a recourir  aux  tribunaux.  Ils  ne  peuvent 

done  exercer  le  droit  de  cette  defense  que  dans  les  cas  momenta- 

nes  ou  l'on  serait  perdu  si  I’on  attendait  le  secour  des  iois. 

Mais  entre  les  30caetes  , le  droit  de  la  defense  naturelle  e»- 

traine  quelques  fois  la  necessite  d'attaquer,  lorsqu’un  peuple 

/ 

volt  qu’une  plus  longue  paix  en  mettrait  un  autre  en  etat  de  le 

detruire,  et  que  I’attaque  est  dans  ce  moment  le  seul  moyen 

a , 3 

d’empecher  la  destructi  on", 

(1)  Esprit  de  1 fEn cyclop edi e,  load.  voi.8,  "Guerre 

(2)  voxtaare.  load.  voi.  2?,  p.  3?0. 

(3)  Montesquieu.  Esprit  des  lois.  Ek.  10,  Ch.  II. 


^5 


tai re. 


i His  latter  statement  is  severely  criticised  Dy  Vol- 


’’Comment  1 ’attaque  en  pleine  pai x peut-elie  'etre  le 
seul  moyen  d’empecher  cette  destruction?  II  faut  done  que  vous 
soyez  sur  que  ce  voisin  vous  detruira  s’il  devient  puissant. 

Pour  en  etre  slur,  3l  iaut  qu’il  ait  fait  deja  les  preparatils  de 
vetre  perte.  -tin  ce  cas  , e’est  lui  qui  commence  la  guerre,  cO 
n’est  pas  vous;  votre  supposition  est  fausse  et  contradi  ct  oi  re. 

"S’il  y eut  jamais  une  guerre  evidemment  injuste, 
e’est  celle  que  vous  proposez;  e’est  d’aller  tuer  votre  procnain, 

ye-ur  <lue- 

A(qui  ne  vous  attaque  pas)  ne  soit  en  etat  de  vous  attaquer: 

e’est-a-dire  qu’il  iaut  que  vous  hasardaez  de  ruiner  votre  pays 

dans  i’esperance  de  ruiner  sans  raison  celui  d’un  autre;  ceia 

n’est  assurement  ni  honnete  ni  utile,  car  on  n’est  jamais  sur  de 
X I 

succes  , vous  le  savez  bien". 

De  Jancourt  defines  unjust  war. 

“Toute  guerre  est  injuste  dans  ses  causes,! I)  lorsau'on 
l’entreprend  sans  aucun  raison  j usti  f i catuyre  , ni  motii  d’utilite 
apparente,  si  tant  est  qu’il  y ait  des  exemples  de  cette  barbari^ 
(2)  lorsqu’on  attaque  lea  autres  pour  son  propre  interet,  sans 
qu  ' i Is  nous  aient  fait  de  tort  reel  ce  s on  t— la  de  vrai  s b ri  • 

gandages;  (3)  lorsqu’on  a des  motifs  fondes  sur  de3  causes  jus- 
tificatives  specieuses,  mais  qui  , bien  examinees,  sont  reelle- 
mant  3 llegi times  ; (4)  lorsqu’avec  de  bonnes  raisons  justifica- 
tives  , on  entreprend  la  guerre  par  des  motifs  qui  n’ont  aucun 
rapport  avec  le  tort  qu  ’ on  a repu  , comme  pour  acquerir  une  vaine  l 


(I)  Voltaire.  Ibid,  vol.19,  p.  3^*-  Dictionnaire  Phi  - 
losoohique.  Arti  cle  "Due r re".  — — 


' 


, 

. 

' 


' 


. 


f 

gloire,  se  rendre  redout&ble  , exercer  ses  troupes,  etendre  sa 

I 

domination,  etc." 

Realizang  that  even  "the  mo3t  necessary  war  i9  always 

disastrous",  writers  declare  that  only  as  a last  resort  should 

war  be  undertaxen  and  only  after  all  legitimate  means  have 
2 

fai led. 

War  has  given  rise  to  a particular  code,  and  civilized 
nations,  considering  its  moral  obligations  binding,  have  more  or 
less  adhered  to  it.  This  vista  of  warfare  is  seen  in  varied  per- 
spectives by  dilferent  writers. 

Voltaire,  in  phrases  that  show  h 3 wonderfully  alert 
mind,  balks  at  the  idea  of  rules  and  regulations  in  warfare. 

"I^droit  de  la  guerre,  je  ne  sais  ce  que  c’est.  Le  code 

r \ 

du  meurtre  me  semble  une  etrange  imagination.  J*  espere  que  oien- 
tot  on  nous  donnera  la  jurisprudence  des  voleurs  de  grand  che- 
min  ". 

The  code  01  war,  according  to  Diaerot,  is  in  one  word: 

4 

"Soi t le  plus  fort". 

Chevalier  de  Jancourt  urges  tnat  hostilities  oe  Kept 
within  bounds. 

“Tout  ce  qu3  a une  liaison  moralement  necessaire  avec 
le  out  dfune  guerre  juste,  doit  etre  perrnis  et  rien  aavantage.  Bn 


(1)  Esprit  de  Ixncyclopedi e.  Ibid.  vol.  b,p.  19b. 

(2)  Diderot.  Ioid.  vol.  Ib,  pp . lay -1 09 ; He  Molinari. 
Ibid.  p.  340;  Ax 3 0 (I)  p.  401* 

(3)  Voltaire.  load,  vol. a,  p.  434. 

(4)  Diaerot.  ibid.  vox.  p.  490* Also  Rousseau.  XDid. 
vol.  3 , p.  3^4. 


' 


■ 


2?  | 

effet,  il  serai t inutile  d ’avoir  droit  de  iaire  une  chose,  si 

1 1 on  ne  pouvait  se  servir  des  moyens  necessaires  pour  en  venir  a 

bout;  mais  il  serait  fou  de  pen3er  que  defendre  ses  droits,  on 

1 

se  crut  tout  loisible  et  tout  legitime". 

Had  de  Jancourt  lived  in  our  day,  would  he  have  ap- 
proved the  sinKing  of  the  Lusitania  with  the  coae  of  wariare  he  ! 
advocated?  It  would  seem  so  from  the  following: 

“Il  y a oien  de  choses  , qui  , quoique  illicites  d’ail- 
leurs  , deviennent  permise3  et  necessaires  dans  la  guerre,  parce 
qu’elles  en  sont  de3  suited  inevitables,  et  qu'elles  arrivent 
centre  notre  intention  et  sans  un  dessein  formel;  on  peut  canon- 
ner  un  vaisseau  plein  de  corsaires,  quoique  dans  ce  vaisseau  il 
se  trouve  quelques  hommes , queiques  femmes,  quelques  enlants,  ou 
autres  personnes  innocents  , qui  courent  risque  d’etre  enveloppes 

dans  la  ruine  de  ceux  que  1 ’ on  veut  et  que  l’on  peut  faire  perir 
I 

avec  justice". 

Approving  devastation,  destruction  and  death  as  permit- 
ted oy  the  rights  of  wariare,  he  might  have  also  applauded  the 
German's  combing  of  hospitals^ 

"Les  lois  de  la  guerre  permettent  d’en  dommager  les 
biens  de  1 ’ennemj  , et  de  les  detruire,  parce  qu'ii  n’est  point 

V . 

contraire  a la  nature  de  depouiller  de  son  bien  une  personne  a 
qui  l’on  peut  oter  la  vie.  Enfin  , tous  ces  actes  a’hostilite  suo- 
sistent  sans  injustice,  jusqu’a  ce  qu’on  se  soit  mis  a 1’aori  des 
dangers  dont  l'ennemi  nous  menapait,  ou  qu’on  ait  recouvre  ce 
qu’ii  nous  avai t injustement  enleve". 

(I)  Esprit  de  1 ’Encyclopedic.  Ilia.  vox.  pp.2DIi-.i04, 

— — — — — — — — - - — — — ~ 1 — — MM—  ~ — . — WTW  -i  | 


. 

. 


, 

. 


*8' 


Une  thousand  infamous  immorali ties  , rapines  and  norrors 
shamelessly  suffered  in  war  are  prohibited  by  the  laws  oi  civi- 
lized warfare* 

“L^es  droits  rte  la  guerre  ne  s*6tendent  pas  juequ  *a 
autoriser  les  outrages  a l’nonneur  des  femmes;  car  une  teJLle  con- 

\ /.  > a f 

duite  ne  contra bue  point  a notre  defense,  a notre  surete,  na  au 

maintien  de  nos  droits;  elle  ne  peut  servir  qu’a  satisfaire  la 

I 

Irutelite  du  soldat  ef-frene", 

frisoners  of  war  and  non-parti  cipants  in  the  war-strict 
en  area  must  not  oe  Killed* 

■Les  lois  militaires  de  i ’Europe  n’au  tori  sent  point  a 
oter  la  vie  de  propos  deiibere  aux  prisonniers  de  guerre,  ni  a 
ceux  qui  se  rendent  , morn* encore  aux  vieillards  , aux  femmes,  aux 
eniants,  et  en  general  a aucun  de  ceux  qui  ne  sont  ni  d ’un  age, 
na  d’une  profession  a porter  des  antes,  et  qui  n’ont  d’autre 

part  a la  guerre,  que  de  se  trouver  dans  le  pays  ou  dans  le  parti 

I 

ennemi " . 

Upon  surrender,  the  soldier  is“hors  du  combat",  and 

. 

according  to  Rousseau  is  no  longer  an  enemy. 

/ * 

"La  i an  de  la  guerre  etant  la  destruction  de  l’Et&t 

ennemi  , on  a droit  d ’en  tuer  les  defenseurs  tant  qu’als  ont  les 

* A 

armes  a la  main;  mais  si  tot  qu’ils  les  posent  et  se  rendent,  ces- 
sant  d’etre  ennemas  ou  instruments  de  1’ennemi  , ils  redevaennent 
simplement  hommes  , et  1 ’ on  n ’a  plus  de  droit  sur  leur  vie.  Q,uel- 
ques  fojs  on  peut  tuer  l’Etat  sans  tuer  un  seul  de  ses  memfcres  ; 
or  la  guerre  ne  donne  aucun  droit  q ui  ne  soit  necessaire  a sa 

<L 

fin". 

‘ 1 r tl}  U3pri t de'T’En  cyclopedic.  I old.  vox.  o,  p.^00. 

U)  Rousseau.  load.  vox.  3 , p.yio.  ••  Con  prat  &ocial". 


a > 


Tine  theory  that  the  soldier,  upon  surrendering,  is  to 
be  treated  as  toeing  no  longer  an  enemy  , follows  from  a well  rec- 
ognized political  principle  pertaining  to  war. 

\ 

"La  guerre  n’est  done  point  une  relation  d ’hemme  a 
homme,  mai 3 une  relation  1'ntat  a itat  , dans  raquelie  les  parti- 
culars ne  3ont  ennemis  qu ' accidenteliement , non  point  comme 
dommes,  ni  m^me  comme  citoyens,  mai s comme  soldats;  non  point 

comme  membres  de  la  patrie,  mai 3 comme  ses  defenseurs.  enfin 

/ * 

cnaque  mtat  ne  peut  avoir  pour  ennemis  que  d!autres  mtats,  et  non 

1 

pas  des  nomines”. 

Consequently  there  can  ne  no  rigdt  wdi  ch  permits  the 

Killing  of  prisoners,,  To  this  subject,  Monxesauieu  nevot.es  several 
2 

chapters, 

m his  -Contrat  social",  nousseau  ai fl erenti  ates  pri- 
vate from  puoii c property,  declaring  that  the  former  shouln  oe 
exempt  1 rorn  capture,. 

hn  pieine  guerre,  un  prince  juste  3‘empar*  oien,  en 
pays  ennemi  , de  tout  ce  qui  appartient  a,u  public;  mai  s il  re- 
specte  la  personne  et  le3  biens  des  parti  cuii er3  ; il  respecte  les 

3 

droi  t3  sur  lesquels  30nt  fondes  les  siens", 

Characteristic  of  wars  dave  been  vile  deeds,  cold- 
blooded murder,  considered  legitimate  and  sanctioned  oy  a right 
ot  reprisal.  L'Abbe  ne  najnt-pierre  ourns  wi  tn  indignation  at 
such  cruelties,  voltaire  speaks  of  acts  of  reprisal  as  resulting 
from  a 3pirit  of  emulation,  stimulating  one  to  render  his  need 
more  f oui  and  vile  than  that  of  his  enemy,  .both  writers  declare 
emphatically  that  the  code  01  civilized  warfare  does  not  sanctio! 

CX)  lous sea“  Tb id.  voic  p.  3^1.  “Contrat  social11. 

12)  Montesquieu,  n-sprit  des  lois.  jj>x.  ±5, chill  10 
f 3)  came  as  (I),  p.  310. 


■ 


30 

acts  of  reprisal. 

Conquest  , and  enslaving  of  the  conquered  are  treated 

oy  writers  of  the  rights  of  nations  in  war. 

"L ’ oo  j et  de  la  guerr$ , c’est  la  victoire;  celui  de  la 
victoire,  la  conquete;  celui  de  la  conquete,  la  conservation  0 

'i’ne  editor  of  Montesquieu’s  works  inserts  the  following 

remarks : 

"Montesquieu  raisonne  suivant  les  idees  de  3on  temps, 

v 

idees  aus3i  vieiiles  que  le  monde0  Aujourd’hui  , avec  le  progre3 
de  travail,  avec  de3  nations  plus  justes  sur  les  droita  des  na- 
tions et  des  indi vidus  , on  ne  peut  plus  dire  que  la  conquete  3 0it 
l’oojet  de  la  victoire  pour  un  peupie  civilise.  Des  conquetes  , 
fai te3  au  mepris  du  voeu  des  populations  k 3ont  le  pur  regne  de 

la  force,  c’est-a-dire  un  brigandage  qui  ne  peut  engenarer  aucun 

I 

droi  t 

Montesquieu  was  well  a¥/are  of  this  truth,  Altnough  he 

declares  that  under  certain  circumstances  enslaving  the  conquered 

peoples  may  oe  imperative,  -"un  n’a  droit  de  reduire  en  servitude 

que  lorsqu'elle  est  necessaire  pour  la  conservati  on  de  la 

conquete,  L’objet  de  la  conquete  e3t  la  conservati on ; la  servitude 

n’eat  jamais  l’oojet  de  la  conquete;  mais  il  peut  arriver  qu'eile 

It 

30it  un  moyen  necessaire  pour  aiier  a la  conservati on "»  In  number 
xcv  01  the  "Lettre3  Persanes”,he  recognizes  no  right  of  conquest, 
"Le  droit  de  conquete  n’est  point  un  droit,  Une  societe 
ne  peut  etre  fondee  que  sur  la  volonte  de3  asaocies.  Si  elle  e3t 

/ A 

detruite  par  la  conquete,  le  peupie  redevient  liore;  il  n »y  a plus 


(1)  koiinario  Ibid,  p,  347;  voitaire,  load,  vol,  ^5  , 

p,  ; Montesquieu,  Ioid,  "Msprit  des  lois",  jbk.  iO,  Chs.*',  3, XX 

(2)  Montesquieu.  .Ditto.  Bjc.  i.  on. 


■ 


■ 


de  nouvelle  societe;  et  si  le  vaiqueur  en  veut  former,  c'est  une 

A 

tyranni e 

A clearer  vision  ink  the  question  of  conquest  and  slav- 
ery is  that  of  Rousseau  in  his  “Contrat  social". 

"A  1'  egard  du  droit  de  conquete  , il  n'a  d 'autre  fonde- 
ment  que  la  loi  de  plus  fort.  Si  la  guerre  ne  donne  point  au  von- 
queur  le  droit  de  massacrer  les  peuples  vaincus  , ce  droit  qu’il 
n’a  pas  ne  peut  fonder  celui  de  les  asservir.  On  n'a  le  droit  de 
tuer  l’ennemi  que  quand  on  ne  peut  le  faire  esclave;  le  droit  de 
le  faire  esclave  ne  vient  done  pas  du  droit  de  le  tuer;  e’est 
done  un  echange  ini  que  de  r4ui  laire  ache  ter  au  prix  de  3a  liber- 
te  sa  vie,  sur  laquelle  on  n'a  aucun  droit,  Rn  etablissant  le 
droit  de  vie  et  de  mort  sur  le  droit  d'esclavage,  et  le  droit 

d’esclavage  sur  le  droit  de  vie  et  de  mort,  n’est-ce  pa3  clair 

I 

qu'on  touche  dans  le  cercle  vicieux?” 

Diderot  says  that  international  law  ceases  to  be  bind- 
ind  with  the  outoreaic  of  war;  hence  there  are  no  laws  or  rights 
of  warfare. 

“Le  droit  de  la  nature  est  restraint  par  le  droit  ci- 
vil; le  droit  civil,  par  le  droit  des  gens,  qui  ce3se  au  moment 
2 

de  la  guerre". 

iuaintai  ning , on  the  contrary,  that  internati  onal  law 
does  govern  all  nati ons  in  war,  Montesquieu  says: 

“ C'est  ce  droit  des  gens  qui  fait  que,  panni  nous  1a 
vi  ctoi  re  laisse  au  peupie  vaincu  les  biens,  et  toujours  la  re- 

3 

iigion,  lorsqu’on  ne  s 'aveugle  pas  soi-meme". 


n 

n o 


ch*  1. 


(I)  Rousseau.  Ioia.  vox.  3,pc  311. 
l^)Diderot.  laid.  vol.  4,  p.  490. 

(3)  Montesquieu.  Esprit  des  lois.  Bjc.  4,  Ch.  ± 


0 


y*  ! 

.hDDe  de  Saint-Pierre  urges  the  humanizing  of  barbarous 

1 , tv 

usages  in  war.  (To-day,  polical  writers  lay  much  stress  on  the 
need  to  limit  the  use  of  suomarine  and  aerial  oombing,  the  pro- 
hibition of  poison  gas  and  disease  germs,  and  liKe  abominati  ons.  ) 
Voxtaire’s  "Droit  de  la  Guerre"  taxes  up  such  matters 
as  truce  to  bury  the  dead,  stipulation  that  wariare  should  not  be 
waged  in  a certain  place,  articles  of  capitulation  accorded  a oe+ 
3eiged  city,  atrocities  on  women,  and  treatment  of  wounded  prison- 
ers 

By  no  means  is  war  a game  between  gentlemen;  yet  there 
have  been  recorded  many  incidents  of  chivalry  am  Kindness  on  the 
field  of  battle,  “These  are  the  dictates  which  the  humanity  01 

5 

great  hearts  diffuses  over  the  ewils  caused  by  war'1 * 3 4. 

In  striKing  contrast  with  the  views  of  Voltaire  is  a 

statement  of  Montesquieu  that  Christianity  has  purged  war  of  all 

cruelties.  He  credits  religion  for  establishing  armistices  in 

civil  wars , so  that  the  people  might  do  their  ploughing,  sowing, 

4 

and  harvesting* 

His  thought  is  coincident  with  voltaire*s  and  with  that 
of  other  contemporaries  when  he  speaxs  of  the  influence  of  world 
commerce  a3  tending  to  cement  nations  in  peace,  (This  might  sound 
liKe  a paradox;  they  all  blaspheme  commercial  wars,) 

“L’effet  nature 1 du  commerce  e3t  de  pcrter  a la 


(I)  Molinari,  Ibid,  p,  347, 

U)  voitaire.  Ibid,  vol,  ^7 » pp.  36^-37% 

(3)  Ditto,  vol.  10,  p.  1^4. 

(4)  Montesquieu.  Espri  t des  lois.  BK.  <>4,  Ch.  17, 


■ 


. 


* 


* 


r 


53 

/ 

pajx.  Deux  nati one  qui  negocient  ensemble  se  rendent  reciproque- 

ment  dependantes:  si  l'une  a interet  d^cheter,  lfautre  a intlret 

de  vendre  , et  toutes  les  unions  aont  fondees  aur  des  besoins  mu- 
I 

tuels ". 


Tne  foremost  problem  to-day  ia  the  setting  op  of  a 
league  of  nations,  whereby  many  a threatened  war  may  be  nipped  in 
the  bud,  and  possioly  all  war  abolished,, 

Humanitarian  in  tneir  philosophy  in  its  oroade3t  con- 
ception, French  writers  of  the  eighteenth  century  sought  no  less 
ardently  than  we  to-day  the  abolition  of  war.  Knowing  that  large 
armies  were  the  taproot  of  wars,  they  preached  a policy  of  dis- 
azmament  and  reducing  military  iorce.  Many  wars  had  been  propa- 
gated by  the  prolific  seeds  01  intrigue  and  secret  alliances.  To 
stifle  these  causes,  the  writers  asiced  that  wider  publicity  be 
given  to  diplomatic  treaties.  A veritaoie  apostle  of  lioerty 
and  equality,  Rousseau  deemed  reioims  in  the  then  existing  state 
constitutions  essential  for  founding  a stable  peace.  A current 
oi  pacificism,  Drought  in  by  the  tide  of  events  01  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  given  great  impetus  oy  the  ADDe  he  baint-Pi erre fs 
''Projet  de  Paix  Perpetuelle " , the  iir3t  to  conceive  the  idea  of 

cL 

perpetual  peace. 

He  realised,  as  did  his  contemporaries  soon  alter  him, 
t^attnere  were  problems  which  transcend  national  limits.  Their 
solution  called  for  a pezmanent  i nternati onal  tribunal  or  court. 


(I)  Esprit  des  lois.  I Did.  Bk.  20,  Ch.  II;  voitaire. 
Ibid.  vol.  38  , p.  j^oiih&ri.  I Did.  p«  39 

[ d)  Barm,  Jules.  Ibid.  p.  8?«Al30  another  modern  crit- 
ic, E.  Bourgeois,  "L ’Enseignement  de  l'histolre  et  le  mouvement 
pacifiste".  p.  bti. 


54  | 

Trie  adea  that  differences  of  nations  can  be  settled  oy 
a world  court  of  justice  is  expressed  in  the  introduction  of  has 
"Pro  jet ", 

* ✓ 

“ II  g’agit,  en  un  mot,  d’arracher  les  peuples  a l»etat 
de  nature  ou  ils  vivent  encore  les  uns  a l»egard  des  autres  , pour 
les  faire  entrer  dans  un  etat  juridique  qui  soit  pour  eux  ce  que 
l'etat  civil  est  pour  le3  individu3"0 

With  the  eagerness  of  an  alchemist  obsessed  by  his 
curiosity,  the  good  Aboe  sought,  unseliishly,  an  ideal,  a dream 
immemorial,  the  preservation  of  world  peace  for  all  time,  homage 
is  due  him  for  his  loity  aim. 

However,  his  proposed  league  could  never  have  proved 
practical,  effective  as  a system  of  world  government,  his  wa3  a 
crude  and  undigested  plan,  a very  vague  and  nebulous  scheme. 

That  hi  3 discussion  wa3  academic  and  not  a matter  of 
practical  politics  can  readily  be  apprehended  from  a reading  of 
the  five  articles  in  his  plan.  He  gives  no  consideration  whatso- 
ever to  the  political  structure  of  Europe,  then  badly  constitutec 
by  the  treaties  of  Utrecht,  nor  to  the  political  constitutions  oj 
the  nations  that  were  to  form  the  league.  This  oversight  leaves 

his  league  one  of  sovereigns  against  their  peoples,  an  oligarchy 

2 

of  the  then  Great  Powers. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  his  idea  of  a 
permanent  international  tribunal  was  not  taicen  sreiously  oy  the 


(I)  Kami,  Jules,  loid.  p.  od. 

[ d)  load,  "Projet1  pp,  o7-I^5«  Also  an  Moiinari, 
22-57,  Also  Bayet  & Albert,  pp.  Ib-22. 


PP- 


J 


■ 


• I 

eighteenth  century  philosophers.  It  did,  however,  arouse  consider 

able  agitation  and  discussion. 

Juie3  Harm  asserts  that  Emanuel  ivant  discovered  here, 

in  a arude  form,  a profound  philosophical  principle,  which  he  tooxi 

up  and  developed  later  with  so  much  precision  in  hie  “project  of 

I 

Perpetual  Peace”. 

Though  penetrated  by  the  sentiment  oi  humanity,  Vol- 
taire was  not  idealistic  a3  was  the  Aooe  de  bain t-Pi erre.  He 
calls  the  idea  oi  perpetual  peace  among  men  more  chimerical  than 
the  project  of  a universal  language.  He  asserts  that  it  is  as  dii< 
ficult  to  prevent  men  from  waging  war  as  it  is  to  prevent  woives 
from  eating  iambs.  He  reiterates  that  peace  can  subsist  no  more 

among  princes  tnan  among  elephants  and  rhinoceroses  , among  wolves 
2 

and  dog3. 

He  admits,  however,  that  the  e3tablishmen t oi  a Europe- 
an diet  might  be  very  useful  lor  judging  different  disputes,  in 

J) 

returning  criminals  or  in  the  laws  of  commerce. 

The  reaction  oi  Rousseau,  vigorously  expressed  in  his 
”Jugement  3ur  La  Paix  Perpetuelle ” ,indi cates  a Keen  intellect, 
penetrating  human  nature  and  political  theory. 

"Si  jamais  verite  morale  fut  demontree,  il  me  semble 
que  c’est  l*utilite  generale  et  particuliere  de  ce  projet.  Les  a- 
vantages  qui  resulterai ent  de  son  execution,  et  pour  chaque 
prince,  et  pour  chaque  peuple,  et,  pour  toute  lfEurope*  sont  i mi- 
menses  , clair3,  incontestables, . .Real! sez  3a  republique  europe- 


(1)  Rami,  Jules.  Ibid.  p.  bo.  nant’s  famous  (.peace 
project  is  treated  in  Jiolinari  , pp.  jb^-4 2b. 

(2)  Voltaire,  ibid,  vol,  10,  p,  190;  "De  la  paix  per- 
petuelle", vol.  2b,  pp.  I03-I2b. 

(3)  Ditto,  v 01.  2b,  p.  I27. 


enne  durant  un  3eul  jour,  e’en  eat  assez  pour  la  laire  aurer  eter 
nellement,  tant  chacun  trouverait  par  experience  a on  profit  par- 
ticular dans  le  bien  cammun.  Cependant  cea  memes  princes,  qui  la 
defendraient  de  toutea  leurs  forces  ai  elle  exiatait,  s’opposer- 
aient  maintenant  de  meme  a son  execution,  et  1 ’empe cherai ent  de 
s’eteindre.  ^insi  , l’ouvrage  de  l’abbe  de  Saint-Pierre  sur  la 
paix  perpetuelle  paralt  df’abord  inutile  pour  la  produire  et  su- 

4 

perflu  pour  la  conserver.  G’est  done  une  vaine  speculation,  di  ra 

quelque  lecteur  impatiento  J»on,  e’est  un  livre  solide  et  sense, 

I 

et  il  eat  trea-important  qu’il  existe". 

He  then  points  out  the  erroneous  conceptions  emooaied 
in  the  plan;  and  enumerates  the  enormous  universal  advantages 
that  would  accrue  from  a permanent  world  league  oi  arbitration,, 

In  stating  his  objections  to  the  treaty  proposed  by  tne  Aoue  de 
bai  nt-Pierre , he,  too,  points  out  that  its  es  taolisnment  would 
have  lortified  dynastic  governments. 

The  Diggest  oostacie  in  the  way  oi  a world  league,  how- 
ever, is  human  nature. 

“Si  malgre  tout  cela,  ce  projet  demeure  sans  execution, 
ce  n’est  done  pas  qu’il  soit  chimerique;  e’est  que  les  hommes 
sont  insen3e3  , et  que  e’est  une  sorte  ae  folie  d’etre  sage  au 
milieu  des  fous".^ 


(1) Housseau.  Ibid.  vol.  b.  p.  ^9, 

(2)  I bid.  p.  $d7e 


37 

Concluding  from  the  criticisms  here  set  forth,  we  may 
rigntly  infer  that  tne  eighteentn  century  was  not  ripe  for  a 
world,  league  of  nations,  Nor  was  the  following  century,  during 
which  traditional  animosities  and  intense  nationalism  oecarne 
still  more  firmly  rooted®  These  were  fostered  and  Kept  alive  by 
the  numerous,  and  in  many  cases  arbitrary,  divisions  of  Europe, 
which  gave  the  Continent  the  aspect  of  armed  camps. 

With  the  advent  of  the  telegraph,  the  cable,  the  rail- 
road, the  newspaper,  with  the  expansion  of  industry  and  of  world 
commerce,  human  society  has  been  moulded  more  and  more  into  one 
organism*  The  modem  flying  machine  promises  to  oe  an  even  great- 
er  herald  of  world  unity® 

Politically,  however,  these  tendencies  toward  the  unity 
of  mankind  have  been  retarded  in  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth 
centuries,  a3  was  the  case  in  the  eighteenth,  oy  many  barriers," 
national  boundaries,  innate  prejudices  of  language  , and  past  tra- 
ditions® That  these  obstructions  must  be  swept  aside,  if  future 
peace  i3  to  be  assured  and  lasting,  was  decisively  proved  to  us 
by  the  ureat  War,  and  particularly  oy  the  Peace  Conference®  in 
this  conclusion  we  are  but  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
eighteenth  century  i'rench  writers® 

In  this  essay  have  been  given  some  of  their  opinions  on 

acute  problems  of  their  age®  To-day,  we  are  confronted  with  sim- 
ilar  difficulties  in  our  attempt  to  set  up  a world  league  of 
nations,  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  wars®  In  many 
ways  we  are  only  a few  hours  removed  irom  the  eighteenth  century. 
Prom  its  great  writers  we  may  get  the “Key  of  yesterday  that  un- 
locks to-morrow. 


. 


' 


s t 


1 ( 


Bloli ography 


38 


Voltaire,  Oeuvres  Completes  de,  Oarnier  .Freres  , 

Li brai res-Edi  teurs  ^2  vols,  Paris  1877-1885 

Diderot,  Oeuvres  Completes  dea  oamier  Preres, 

20  vols,  Paris  I&75-I&77 

Rousseau , Oeuvres  Completes  de0  Librairie  H&chette 
Et  Cje,  13  vols,  Paris  18 85-1905 

Montesquieu,  Oeuvres  completes  de,  Gamier  Freres, 

7 vols,  Paris  1877-1879 

Esprit  de  1 ’Encyclopedic,  vol,  8 

^ po  I il  i<j  u.e$ 

Bayet , Aloert , & Albert,  Prancois,  “Les  Ecrivains  du 
XVIII*  si  &cle  ”,  Paris  1904  A 

Molinari , M.  J.  De , “L’aobe  de  Saint-Pierre”, 

Paris  1857 

.barni  , &•  Ju±e3  , “Hastoire  des  Idees  Morales  et  Poli- 
tiques  en  Prance  au  dix-huitieme  siecle1',  oermer  Bailliere. 
Paris  1873 

Roustan,  Marius  ."Les  Philosophies  et  la  Society  Pran- 
gai se  au  AVIII^  si ecle ",  Librairie  A,  Picard  et  Pi  Is , 

Paris  I9O6 

Vattel,  Ed,  "Le  Droit  des  cens",  3 vols,  Paris  I865 

Oliver,  Thomas  E award , “Le  Philos  ophe  sans  le  Oavoir”^ 
Sedaine,  Dew  YorK  1914 


